1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to storage apparatus, and particularly to apparatus for storing strings of lights such as Christmas tree lights and accessories such as ornaments and other decorations.
2. Background Information
Every year Christmas lights and ornaments must be recovered from storage for display and then repacked after the holidays. Often the strings of lights become tangled and bulbs and fragile ornaments can be broken.
Various solutions to these annual chores have been proposed. There are many suggestions for freestanding or rotatable frames on which the strings of lights can be wrapped. Typically, the fragile ornaments are individually wrapped and packed in boxes. It has been suggested that the ornaments could be suspended from hooks depending from the top wall of a storage box with the ornaments inserted and retrieved through a door in a side wall of the box. Receptacles for storing the strings of lights and ornaments together have also been proposed. In one, the strings of lights are wrapped around posts in a storage box with the ornaments retained between cloth bands looped over other posts. In another, the light strings are wrapped around frames, which are suspended within a rectangular box with the ornaments stored in spaces created between other suspended frames.
There is no really efficient arrangement for storing and retrieving strings of lights and accessories. In most cases, the lights and ornaments are stored separately. Even those that store all of the decorations together, none provide a convenient arrangement for packing away and feeding out the strings of lights which eliminates tangling and at the same time provides secure and easily accessible storage for the accessories, such as fragile ornaments including the large ornaments that often adorn the top of a Christmas tree.
Hence, there is clearly room for improvement in an apparatus for storing strings of lights and accessories.
More particularly, the invention is directed to apparatus for storing strings of lights and accessories comprising a container having a side wall with an outer surface adapted to retain strings of lights wrapped around the surface and defining an internal cavity adapted to contain the accessories. The container can have hangers and/or compartments in the internal cavity adapted to store the accessories. The hangers, for example, can be elongated hooks extending laterally inward within the cavity. Where the container side wall is a surface of revolution, the elongated hooks can extend radially inward, and to provide more efficient packing of the accessories suspended from the hooks they can be staggered in height. The compartments can be arranged circumferentially around the bottom of the internal cavity, and if needed, a central post can be provided to support a large ornament such as that mounted on the top of the Christmas tree.
The outer surface of the container side wall can be a surface of revolution which extends upward and inward. A lower flange extending radially outward from the lower end of the side wall and an upper flange extending radially outward from an upper end of the side wall can be provided. As another aspect of the invention, a hood can be provided which extends down over the side wall to protect the strings of lights wrapped around the outer surface of the container side wall. Support members can be provided on the outer surface of the hood for storing additional accessories.
Preferably, the apparatus for storing strings of lights and accessories has a base with a substantially vertical pivot axis on which the container is mounted for rotation. Thus, by rotating the container the strings of lights can be easily, and without tangling, wrapped around the outer surface of the side wall of the container. Similarly, the strings of lights can be retrieved by simply pulling on the free end to unwind the string.